Jeff Ermann

Point Guard

Offensive Game:

Jeff is a point guard.  A real point guard.  Dangerous with the outside shot.  Dangerous with the drive.  Dangerous with the pass.  Dangerous in transition.  Dangerous in how he uses his teammates.  In other words, A POINT GUARD.

Jeff is very quick, with a great dribble, a strong drive, and the ability to take pull-up jumpers with seemingly little effort.  He has several fakes, uses his body well, and is dangerous as a scorer and as a passer in equal measure.

His outside shot is exceptional, and he is also alert to make the extra pass along the outside after a kick-out.  He's good in the pick-and-roll game, although perhaps a bit more as a scorer than a passer.

In a late game, he's a clutch kind of player, although in such a situation, he could be either the hero or the goat.  He can get you into any game.

 Defensive Game:

Defensively, Jeff does what he needs to do;  if that's guard a big man, so be it.  He'll generally take a higher-level offensive player, even if it is a bit of a mismatch.  He's got good strength, and can hold his own in the post.  He's strong as a rebounder, and can go up multiple times after a rebound or loose ball.

In the open court, good offensive speed can catch him on his heels a bit, and his size prevents him from being a shot-blocker.  If you can keep him on his heels, you give yourself the best chance.

The Mental Game:

Jeff is mentally strong, capable, and smart.  However, if you take him out of his productive roles, and eliminate his touches, you can rattle him mentally.  He needs the ball to be moving and the team to be working as one for him to fall into his natural state.  If someone is willing to dribble the air out of the ball, Jeff can fall out of focus.  He can also get out-of-focus if his offensive game deteriorates.

If he's in focus, though, he's tough as nails...the nails he's busy hammering into your coffin.

At his best:

...he's a top-notch offensive threat, with deep range, a power drive, and a keen sense of complete offensive awareness.

At his worst:

...he'll be experiencing brain-drain;  slow ball movement and people pounding the air out of the ball render him almost catatonic.

Strategy for playing with him:

Generally, I detest playing on the same team as other point guards.  Jeff is one of the most glowing exceptions, because playing alongside of him will not take another point guard out of their own game, but will actually enhance it, because Jeff's skills allow him to seamlessly drift between the point guard and the two-guard spots.

However, Jeff is more effective when he's playing point, so even though I'm not going to change my game up to much, it's better to let him be the initiator, and try to use pick-and-pops to free him up while playing my own position.

In the clutch, put the ball in his hands, and trust him to do the right thing.  He's the best clutch distributor around, and he's solid in the role of clutch shooter/scorer.

Strategy for playing against him:

Keep the ball out of his hands.  Deny the ball up the court, and force him to give the ball up early (if you can).  Try to play LOWER than him - stay extremely low, and try to control pace.  If you do this, you'll have to pick him up early, because once he gets in shooting range, he'll shoot over anyone trying to play low.

Try to keep him out of the lane and on the perimeter.  If that means trapping, then trap.  You really need a concentrated team defensive effort to shut him down.

Comparable Pro:  Chauncey Billups

Last updated:  November 17, 2008